Suspension Woes

[skizot722]

I've got a 2002 Lincoln LS V8 with right around 23k miles on it. For the past couple 1k-2k miles I've been noticing a weird problem with the ride quality. It's kind of hard to describe, but when driving the car around town it feels like it bounces over every single bump in the road, even ones you'd barely feel on a bicycle. The bouncing I'm talking about is weird because it bounces over the bump, but doesn't continue to bounce, and it seems to be in the rear of the car (the front feels solid). This is definitely not how the car drove when I bought it with 17k miles on it. It was definitely a smooth riding car.

I took it into the dealer and told them to put it up on the lift and make sure everything was tight, and looked OK to them. They called me up later that day and said they couldn't find anything. I noticed some palm prints on the rear bumper, as if they just did the usual bounce test for the rear shocks and didn't actually even put it up on the lift and check it out like I asked. I've done this test myself, and the car comes right back up and stays (no bouncing when doing this) as it should. I can also hear a thumping over some bumps, like something is bottoming out almost (I don't know if this is related or not).

I know that something is definitely wrong somewhere, and that's not how it rode when I first started driving it. Could there be something wrong with the coil-over shocks in the back with that little mileage on the car? I'm not really sure what else to do or look for at this point.

 

[milehighmikey]

Hi. Is this LS a sport model? It sounds like normal sport suspension in cold weather. If not, I'd guess that the shocks are too firm for *some* reason.

I got over 100K on my original Euro sport shocks, and they never exhibited secondary bounce on jounce tests. Their only issue was lack of extreme short stroke damping, which contributed to fast tire cupping and lack of driving pleasure due to noise.

If you have sport suspension, you may wish to replace the shocks with non-sport shocks for a more lincolny ride.

Also check your tire pressures and maintain low-30s in psi.

 

[00_slow_5spd_ls]

its a ford product. you need to dig deeper into the problem, however once you find one problem, you will find another, and another, and another. then you will end up spending thousands of dollars on the pos ford

 

[glanga]

its a ford product. you need to dig deeper into the problem, however once you find one problem, you will find another, and another, and another. then you will end up spending thousands of dollars on the pos ford

+1

The mechanics are salesmen too, just like the greasy weasels in the showroom. Unless you raise a bitch fit and watch them perform the test, they won't do it because they aren't making any money off of it. They make a lot more fixing cars than diagnosing them. And even then, get a second opinion just so they don't try and sell you a whole new rear end.

 

[scjmc]

Also check your tire pressures and maintain low-30s in psi.

+1
Most tire shops will spew 36 PSI into your tires like most cars and trucks take. My LS only takes 32PSI and it rides better that way.

 

[skizot722]

I maintain my tire pressure at 31 psi. I also replaced my crappy stock Turanza's with some new Potenza Pole Position 960as tires here about a month ago. The tires ride a lot smoother than the old ones and make no noise at all, but had no effect on the problem I described above.

And as far as the dealers making more money on fixing problems rather than diagnosing them, isn't that kind of the chicken and the egg problem? They first have to find a problem (by means of diagnosis) before being able to fix anything.

 

[glanga]

That's what I mean, when they finally get around to really diagnosing it, get a second opinion.

Maybe the shocks themselves are worn? That's just my opinion though

 

[NateRW21]

I'd put it up on jack-stands and have a look at it myself... then if you fail to find anything, take it to a reputable, independent shop; if you can find one of the good-ol' boys around town that runs his own suspension/brake/alignment shop who's been there since Moses was a boy and doesn't need to advertise... you won't be steered wrong!

 

[skizot722]

What should I look for exactly? I've been under there a few times, and it looks pretty complicated - at least compared to my Chevelle's rear-end

 

[NateRW21]

mainly, check for loose parts, check your ball joints and rod links; in theory, really bad ball joints could give you a jittery ride. Other than that, take it in...